Wave of protests begins in Ireland after death of Congolese during approach

Hundreds of people protested in front of the Irish parliament to express outrage at the death of a man born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, after he was pinned down outside a department store in Dublin, in an incident that some compared to the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

Yves Sakila was detained by security guards on one of the capital's busiest shopping streets last Friday (15), in connection with an alleged shoplifting, police said. He fell unconscious at the scene and was later pronounced dead.

A video, widely shared on social media, shows Sakila being pinned to the ground by at least five men for almost five minutes, while people around them watched.

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Two of the men pressed his face against the ground and, at one point, one of them appeared to kneel on his head or neck for a few seconds.

"We call it a George Floyd moment," said David Kaliba, a 35-year-old physics student who studied with Sakila at a high school in Dublin's north suburbs, referring to a black Minneapolis man killed by a police officer who knelt on his neck for several minutes during a May 2020 arrest.

Video shocked the country
Floyd's death boosted the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States and triggered nationwide protests against police brutality and racism.

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"I can't believe this happened in America in 2020 and in Ireland in 2026," said Kaliba, who, like Sakila, moved to Ireland from the Democratic Republic of Congo at a young age.

He described his former classmate, who worked in IT before recently becoming homeless, as a quiet, shy person who was not aggressive.

"When you watch this video, it is literally a reenactment of what happened to George Floyd," said Yemi Adenuga, spokesperson for the Black Coalition Ireland.

Adenuga, a councilor for the ruling Fine Gael party and the first black woman elected to political office in Ireland in 2019, said the government had failed to implement measures to properly integrate the country's growing number of immigrants and that this was "a recipe for chaos, anarchy and apathy."

There has been a sharp rise in anti-immigration protests in Ireland in recent years. Anti-immigration activists helped spark large-scale riots in central Dublin in 2023, close to where Sakila died.

The video of his death shocked the nation and was described by parliamentarians as "harrowing" and "disturbing". Prime Minister Micheál Martin reiterated on Thursday (21) calls for a full investigation and said the way Sakila died caused great concern throughout society.

Adenuga, a councilor for the party, on Thursday reiterated calls for a full investigation and said the manner in which Sakila died caused great concern throughout society.

Protesters in front of parliament chanted "no cover-up, no delay". Some carried signs reading "Justice" and "cead mile failte (the Irish expression for welcome) is for everyone."

Police said on Thursday that the autopsy had been completed, but that the results would not be released for operational reasons.

Source: CNN